Personality Pyschology: Havings, Doings and Beings in Context

1
Personality Pyschology Havings, Doings and
Beings in Context

• An article by Brian Little
• Presentation by Sarah McDermott
• EPI 6181, November 2006

2
Foundations

• First personologists (concerned with emotional
  exp.)
• Freud Psychodynamic perspectives unconscious
  wishes
• Murray Diverse needs underlying human motivation
  need for affiliation, achievement
  environmental presses facilitating or impeding
• Allport Traits are the substantively real and
  dynamic sources of human personality
• Behaviourist learning theory (concerned with
  behavioural processes)
• Stimulus-response
• Rewards and punishments

3
Foundations contd

• 3. Kellians (concerned with cognitive systems)
• To understand individuals was to understand the
  personal constructs through which they view their
  worlds.
• Mischel (social cognitive learning)
• Criticized trait as units of analysis in
  personality psychology
• Little evidence for broad-based generalities of
  trait dispositions
• Situational influences (i.e. given trait, such as
  submissiveness, might be exhibited in one
  situation and not another)
• Brought about link with social psychologists

4
Current personality psychologists

• Current ways of explaining nature of human
  nature, according to Little (as adapted from
  McAdams), can be shown by three tiers Havings,
  Doings, Beings
• Little believes these are horizontally and
  potentially vertically integrated

5
Tiers
6
Havings

• Functions primarily descriptive, explanatory,
  predictive
• E.g. of latter conscientiousness and success
  (one interesting exception among jazz musicians
  gt ability to flex more predictive)

7
Doings Personal action constructs (PACs)

• Personal projects
• Considered middle level units in personality
• Cannot be directly inferred from observation of
  individuals acts, rather embedded in daily
  ecology (flu bugs, returning boyfriends, etc.)
• Research has shown subjective well-being is
  related to the extent to which people are engaged
  in personal projects that are worthwhile
  (meaning), managed effectively (structure),
  supported by others (community), likely to
  succeed (efficacy) and not unduly onerous (low
  stress)
• Intrapersonal projects exist (trying to change or
  deal with aspects of ones own personality e.g.
  be more outgoing)

8
Doings, contd

• Life tasks
• undertakings that are important to accomplish at
  different stages of life (Cantor)
• E.g. for students getting independent from
  parents, forming friendships, succeeding
  academically
• Requires social intelligence, esp. strategies to
  accomplish tasks (e.g. defensive pessimism an
  illusory glow optimism)
• Personal strivings
• Something a person is typically trying to do e.g.
  being nice to people
• Difficulties arise when these are in conflict
  e.g. being nice and being intellectually tough to
  succeed

9
Havings and Doings

• One major different between Havings and Doings
  former may be relatively unchangeable after age
  of approximately 30 while the latter are more
  changeable
• Environment havings researchers most concerned
  with fit for individual (e.g. stimulating
  environment for extroverts), while doings
  researchers concerned with ability to generate,
  facilitate, frustrate doings (e.g. family
  atmosphere where school is not seen as important
  may proscribe aspirations)

10
Beings

• Construct stories about our relationships,
  achievements, aspirations, to establish an
  identity, validation of the being we are or are
  becoming
• Interest in locating individual life stories in
  their historical context
• Telling of stories can have salutary effect!

11
Basement

• Psychodynamic theory
• There has been acceptance of the pervasive
  impact of unconscious influences on personality
  functioning.
• Evolutionary psychology
• E.g. sex differences in choosing a partner